Bitter - Sweet (Installment 2)
I future sq sci-fi adventure. A rebellious, sarcastic, and feisty heroine is the mastermind behind a revolt against the dark powers that seek to enslave the universe. Our story continues. I plan to get to the adventure in the next installment, YAY!
Nalia sighed. Finding herself alone, she sat with her back against one of the electro-atom walls of her cell and opened her book. She read about a half-dozen pages. She flipped the last page and found a blank end-paper, she sighed again before tossing the book aside. It struck the electro-atom wall and bounced back, a series of buzzing sounds as the volume traveled repeatedly across Nalia's tiny cell made her chuckle. As the book finally settled, the young woman's eyes fell onto the sleeping form of her nearest neighbor, the new arrival. A victim of a stun-phaser, Nalia knew he should be stirring very soon.
Her eyes lit up as she stealthily approached the fallen book and flipped it open to a blank page. She quietly tore a corner and rolled the paper into a tiny ball. She then repeated the process. In all, she made about ten projectiles. That done, Nalia reached down the front of her shift and withdrew a thin, long, metal rod with a slight hook at the end.
The tip of her tongue between her teeth, Nalia expertly nudged the crude tool through the electro-atom force-field that contained her. A twist of the rod pressed the hook-end onto the outside of the wall and that entire side of her cell was deactivated. Returning the rod to it's hiding place, she swung her legs over the edge of the elevated floor. Taking hold of one of her paper pellets, she adroitly tossed the projectile into the corner of her neighbor's cell.
A zap and a wisp of smoke allowed a smirk to pass her lips. Another pellet followed suit, and another. Nalia's smile grew broader at each ZAP! When she perceived the figure in the neighboring cell was waking; she whipped out her rod and brought her limbs within the boundaries of her cell. A precise motion with her rod brought the deactivated wall humming back to life. Silently, Nalia once again stowed her tool. By the time the mysterious neighbor was fully awake, the mischievous woman was sitting with the open book propped upon her knees and her back to the newcomer.
"Ugh, where am I?" A groggy voice, masculine, spoke behind Nalia. She non-chalantly turned to face him, the man had yet to notice her. A smile played at her lips.
"Welcome to Hell!" she cheerfully greeted.
"What?!" The man jumped and whirled to face her, Nalia had to bite her lip to stifle her laughter.
"I said," she repeated slowly, acting as if he hadn't caught what she said the first time, "'Welcome to Hell."
"I heard you the first time, I just didn't, I mean . . . you caught me by surprise," Nalia chuckled as the man stammered, "I mean...DID YOU SAY HELL!?"
"Yup," Nalia nodded, "H-E-double L, hell. You're there . . . well...actually," she leaned closer to her neighbor, "I should say: you're here."
"Haha, you're a jokester, I see. Where am I, really."
"I told you, HELL!" Nalia played the 'how dare you accuse me of joking' angle. She then sobered before explaining as if to a curious child, standing to idly pace about her cell, "Hell, sometimes referred to as Hades, which is also the name of the Ancient Greek god of the underworld. Hades is known as Pluto in Roman mythology, which is the legends that the early humans used to name the celestial bodies within their own 'Solar System'. Pluto was the name given to the ninth and smallest planet in the 20th century, only to be demoted and renamed in the early 21st century. Centuries later, that self-same 'dwarf planet' was chosen as the site of the Intergalactic Prison of the Solar System in the galaxy known as the Milky Way where you at this very moment find yourself a resident. Therefore, " Nalia crouched to meet the eyes of the baffled man, "you are in Hell, or rather, ON it." The young woman broke into laughter.
After a few moments of stunned silence, the man nearly shouted, "WHY THE HELL AM I IN INTERGALACTIC PRISON?!"
"Oh, do hush up before you bring the guards in here. Do you really want to get phased again?"
"Phased?" the man spoke in a normal tone now.
"You know, phased," Nalia rolled her eyes as the man looked at her with a confused expression, "the intergalactic police phased you before you game, you know, with their stun-phasers."
"But . . . why?"
Nalia shrugged, "they tend to do that with intergalactic convicts, usually it's for the safety of the police," she looked directly at him, "so, what did you do?"
Her eyes lit up as she stealthily approached the fallen book and flipped it open to a blank page. She quietly tore a corner and rolled the paper into a tiny ball. She then repeated the process. In all, she made about ten projectiles. That done, Nalia reached down the front of her shift and withdrew a thin, long, metal rod with a slight hook at the end.
The tip of her tongue between her teeth, Nalia expertly nudged the crude tool through the electro-atom force-field that contained her. A twist of the rod pressed the hook-end onto the outside of the wall and that entire side of her cell was deactivated. Returning the rod to it's hiding place, she swung her legs over the edge of the elevated floor. Taking hold of one of her paper pellets, she adroitly tossed the projectile into the corner of her neighbor's cell.
A zap and a wisp of smoke allowed a smirk to pass her lips. Another pellet followed suit, and another. Nalia's smile grew broader at each ZAP! When she perceived the figure in the neighboring cell was waking; she whipped out her rod and brought her limbs within the boundaries of her cell. A precise motion with her rod brought the deactivated wall humming back to life. Silently, Nalia once again stowed her tool. By the time the mysterious neighbor was fully awake, the mischievous woman was sitting with the open book propped upon her knees and her back to the newcomer.
"Ugh, where am I?" A groggy voice, masculine, spoke behind Nalia. She non-chalantly turned to face him, the man had yet to notice her. A smile played at her lips.
"Welcome to Hell!" she cheerfully greeted.
"What?!" The man jumped and whirled to face her, Nalia had to bite her lip to stifle her laughter.
"I said," she repeated slowly, acting as if he hadn't caught what she said the first time, "'Welcome to Hell."
"I heard you the first time, I just didn't, I mean . . . you caught me by surprise," Nalia chuckled as the man stammered, "I mean...DID YOU SAY HELL!?"
"Yup," Nalia nodded, "H-E-double L, hell. You're there . . . well...actually," she leaned closer to her neighbor, "I should say: you're here."
"Haha, you're a jokester, I see. Where am I, really."
"I told you, HELL!" Nalia played the 'how dare you accuse me of joking' angle. She then sobered before explaining as if to a curious child, standing to idly pace about her cell, "Hell, sometimes referred to as Hades, which is also the name of the Ancient Greek god of the underworld. Hades is known as Pluto in Roman mythology, which is the legends that the early humans used to name the celestial bodies within their own 'Solar System'. Pluto was the name given to the ninth and smallest planet in the 20th century, only to be demoted and renamed in the early 21st century. Centuries later, that self-same 'dwarf planet' was chosen as the site of the Intergalactic Prison of the Solar System in the galaxy known as the Milky Way where you at this very moment find yourself a resident. Therefore, " Nalia crouched to meet the eyes of the baffled man, "you are in Hell, or rather, ON it." The young woman broke into laughter.
After a few moments of stunned silence, the man nearly shouted, "WHY THE HELL AM I IN INTERGALACTIC PRISON?!"
"Oh, do hush up before you bring the guards in here. Do you really want to get phased again?"
"Phased?" the man spoke in a normal tone now.
"You know, phased," Nalia rolled her eyes as the man looked at her with a confused expression, "the intergalactic police phased you before you game, you know, with their stun-phasers."
"But . . . why?"
Nalia shrugged, "they tend to do that with intergalactic convicts, usually it's for the safety of the police," she looked directly at him, "so, what did you do?"
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